"Frank Bandy, aka Right Hand Frank and President of Teardrop Records from Wheeling,IL, sent these discs with the hope that we would review them. Well, Frank, we always appreciate the opportunity to check out some new music and both of these discs struck a chord with me.
The Linkchain disc had me momentarily confused. At first, it seemed like a new release. The problem with that is that Hip passed away in 1989. A little research determined that this is a reissue of Hip's first US release, originally issued in 1981. Hip does the vocals and lead guitar work. The piano work is handled by the now-legendary Pinetop Perkins, whose driving solos repeatedly propel the energy level on the disc, to a higher level. This is a very solid example of Chicago blues, circa early 1980's. Linkchain's vocals get the job done. His guitar playing complements each number with a stinging sound favored by the Chi-town west-side guitar players. Had Linkchain lived until the blues revival of the 1990's, solid recordings like this one would have earned him more attention than he received prior to his untimely passing.